The apparent signing of Goldman comes despite the fact that the No. 2 U.S. cable operator already rejected takeover overtures from Malone earlier this year because the proposal didn’t offer a premium, Bloomberg reported. It's not clear what price Charter offered in prior negotiations.

Both Time Warner Cable and Charter declined to comment on the report.

Shares of New York-based Time Warner jumped 2.70% to $119.46 on the news, leaving the stock up 20% on the year and at their best level since July 2007.